A God Worth Trusting – Psalm 111

A text – Psalm 111

111:1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
111:2 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.
111:3 Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
111:4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful.
111:5 He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
111:7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
111:8 They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
111:9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

A reflection:

In these days it can be hard to know whom to trust. We who were young in the mid-previous century had few sources of news every day, and so we believed the newspaper or the evening news. And unless we were assigned a research paper in school, most of us probably believed what we were told about almost any subject. If we were in doubt, there was always the World Book Encyclopedia. Today there are so many sources of information that it’s pretty easy to find at least a dozen different opinions on any given subject. Some are true, some honestly think they are true, some aren’t entirely true, and some are utterly false.

So a psalm like 111, that extols the majesty, the honor, and the righteousness of the Lord and his works bring a kind of peace and joy to the heart. Why trust God?, the psalmist seems to be asking and answering. Because here is what God is like. Here is what God has done. Here are God’s creations, God’s precepts, and God’s gifts, and they are all good.

Well, today, how do we human beings come to know this God that the psalmist is praising? Through the mighty creation, of course. Through God’s faithfulness to the promises made throughout the generations. And, of course, through Jesus, God in human form who lived among us, felt our pain and our joy, and redeemed us from eternal death. And is Jesus proof that God is honorable and majestic and righteous? Jesus is the living embodiment of God’s love and faithfulness, God’s willingness to make good on anything we’ve made bad. Jesus knows humans and gets us. Watch Jesus take the side of the forgotten ones, the lame, the unclean, the nameless kids, the despised. Watch Jesus love them, and you will know. God is good.

God is worth trusting.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being so big and so mighty and yet so faithful to the smallest, least significant creatures. Thank you for being trustworthy. Help us to see when someone near us feels overpowered and left out and not knowing whom to trust. Help us to be like you and love them and include them. Help us to live and love the way Jesus does.  Amen.